Chapter Eight
Eight
Tegan
The overhead bell of the bakery tinkled and my eyes immediately snapped to the door.
Ever since the wedding, I’d been trapped in some Pavlovian hell, conditioned to think that each time the bell of the bakery rang, it was going to be Atlas. So far, I’d been sorely disappointed.
Just like I was right now as Brian, the owner of the Busy Bean, walked through the door.
“Hey, Brian. How are you today?” I put on my best customer service voice, forcing myself to sound more upbeat than I felt.
“I’m doing great,” he said, flashing that perfect boy-next-door smile he was known for. “Just stopping in to pick up the kolaches.” He held up a cardboard drink carrier with two Busy Bean to-go cups inside of it. “I brought you and Selene lattes.”
“Thank you. That was so sweet of you.”
“It’s the least I can do for you, since you’re special-making these for me.”
At a coffee convention in Texas, he’d fallen in love with kolaches. Apparently, they weren’t a thing in our area, so he’d recruited me to supply them for the coffee shop.
I pulled the box from the display case and slid it across the counter. “There’s cherry, apple, and cream cheese in there, but I was thinking we could try strawberry in the summer.”
“Strawberry would be great.” He stood there for a minute, awkwardly staring at me.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Uh, I was wondering—” It was obvious he was working up the courage to ask whatever it was that was on his mind. “Was that guy you were with at the wedding your boyfriend?” Poor guy blurted the last part in a single breath. It was so rushed, I almost missed it.
“No. He’s just—” I hesitated for a second. Could I call Atlas a friend? Or was he more of an acquaintance? We’d almost kissed, but I didn’t really know him. Not nearly as well as I wanted to. “He’s a friend.”
“Um, you know. If you aren’t seeing anyone, I would love to take you out sometime.” Brian looked at me pleadingly, his crystal-blue puppy-dog eyes full of hope.
Interesting.
The last I’d heard, he was dating Spencer from the bookstore. They looked awfully friendly at the wedding, but from the way Atlas and I were dancing together that night, I guessed we did, too.
“That’s really sweet of you, but I’ve been devoting a lot of time to the bakery and I’m not sure there’s a place in my life for dating right now.” It was a total lie, of course. I was looking to date someone—just not him.
To most people, Brian would have been a catch.
He was an attractive guy. Blond hair. Ice-blue eyes. Nice, polite business owner. As his smile suggested, he gave off real boy-next-door vibes. But he was almost too nice. Too much of a pushover.
Hurt flashed across his face but he quickly shuttered his expression. “Oh yeah. I’m pretty busy with the coffee shop, too, so I get it.”
I nodded, unsure of what to say next.
It was at that moment the overhead bell rang again, and my gaze shot right to the front door. It wasn’t Atlas, but I’d never been happier to see Dec, because if there was anyone who could save me from this awkwardness, it was him.
“Hey there, Bri Bri,” Dec said, strolling right up to Brian. He slipped his oversize sunglasses down his nose, looking Brian up and down. “Don’t you look nice today.” He wiggled his brows for good measure, and I bit back a laugh. This was the perfect interruption.
“Uh, thanks, Dec.” Brian grabbed the kolaches. His body shifted between me and Dec, like he was glitching out. Poor guy. “Well, I better get back,” he finally said once he rebooted.
“But why?” Dec pouted. “I just got here.”
“Sorry,” Brian said. “I’ll see you both around. Bye, Tegan.”
“Bye. And thank you again for the lattes,” I said, throwing him a wave as he slipped out the door.
Dec kept his gaze locked on Brian until he disappeared down the street, then turned his attention to me. “What the fuck was that about?”
“Shouldn’t you be at the diner?” I asked. If I wasn’t mistaken, it was about time for the lunch rush, and here he was hitting on innocent bystanders and yapping with me.
“The old man wanted to work the lunch shift, and who am I to deny him? Besides, I wanted to check in on you. You’ve been in a mood since the wedding.”
“Brian just asked me out,” I told him, pivoting the subject away from Atlas and the wedding.
“You lucky bitch,” Dec scoffed. I knew that would get his attention.
“Hardly.”
“So you turned him down?” he asked.
I nodded. “Of course I did.”
“Why? Brian is, like, the hottest guy in Briar Glenn. Other than your brother, that is.”
Dec calling Reece hot made me scrunch up my nose. “Gross.”
His eyes lit up and he slapped his hand against his chest. Dramatic. “Ah—I know why you said no. Holding out hope for our gym bro in shining athletic shorts. I’m assuming he still hasn’t shown his face around here?”
“Nope,” I said, popping the p.
How was it that I had been single for years, but the moment someone showed interest in me, it was a competition?
Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him?
Every time I closed my eyes, that near kiss played in my mind. The masculine scent of his cologne lingering on his jacket, the warmth radiating off his body, the way his breath felt fluttering against my face, those golden eyes focused on me.
Everything was going great—until my stupid brother had to come along and ruin it. I could have kissed Atlas. I could have ignored Reece and kissed him. But if my brother caught us making out in the garden, he would have made an even bigger spectacle.
Exactly who did he think he was? My chaperone or something?
The look on Atlas’s face was burned into my mind. It was heartbreaking. Mortifying, even.
Every day since the wedding I had hoped I would run into him. That he’d stop by the shop for some cupcakes, or we’d have a casual meet-cute at the grocery store.
But no such luck.
I grabbed the lattes and walked into the back of the bakery with Declan on my heels.
“Brian brought us lattes,” I said, setting Selene’s cup next to her on the counter.
“That was nice of him,” she said without looking up from the donuts she was frosting. They were her new passion project, one that made a great addition to the bakery’s offerings, so I was happy to let her experiment.
“He also asked Tegan out on a date,” Dec added.
Her head snapped up so fast. “He what? I thought he was dating Spencer.”
I shrugged. “I guess not.”
“I like Brian,” Selene said. “He’s a nice guy.”
What was this, some sort of Brian fan club?
“He’s all right.” I took a sip of my latte and let out a heavy sigh.
“How long are you going to mope?” Dec asked.
“I’m not moping. I’m just—sulking.” After the wedding, I’d filled her and Dec in with all of the juicy details: running into Atlas at the wedding, pulling him onto the dance floor, and how we’d almost kissed.
“Okay, well first, those are the same thing,” Dec corrected. “And second, the Tegan Rollins I know wouldn’t just sulk. She would do something about it.”
“He probably doesn’t want to see me again.” That whole “if he wanted to, he would” argument came to mind.
“Tegan—he almost kissed you,” Selene said. “I’m sure he wants to see you again.”
“That was before Reece showed up. Things got really awkward and he left.”
“I mean, I would feel awkward if Javi did something like that, but I wouldn’t let it ruin something for me,” Selene said before sipping her latte.
I snorted. “Javier would never do something like that, though.”
Javier was Selene’s older brother, this hotter-than-sin absolute golden retriever of a guy who worked with my brother at the Briar Glenn Parks Department. The two couldn’t have been more different, but somehow they made it work, forming a friendship as strong as the one Selene and I had.
“Regardless—it seems like you and Atlas really hit it off,” she said. “It would be a shame to miss out on something because of your idiot brother.”
She was right. I felt a real connection with Atlas and I wasn’t about to let my chance at happiness slip through my fingers.
But how—
“You know,” Dec said, a sly smile curling up the corner of his lips. “If you wanted to be low-key about it, you could always sign up for a gym membership. After the whole cake thing, you said you wanted to start working out. Sounds like kismet to me.”
I bit my lip, mulling the idea over for a moment. I definitely wanted to get stronger to avoid any future cake mishaps, and I needed a hobby outside of the bakery, but more than anything, I wanted an excuse to see Atlas again.
It didn’t take me long to make my decision. “I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna sign up for a membership.”
“That’s the spirit!” Dec said, clapping his hands together like my own personal cheerleader.
“Why don’t you run home and get your gym gear on and I’ll hold down the fort here,” Selene suggested.
Mentally I ran through my to-do list for the day.
I had to make some scones for the Busy Bean, put the finishing touches on an excavator-themed birthday cake, and finish icing a large cupcake order.
It was nothing Selene couldn’t handle. It was about time I stopped micromanaging and passed some of the responsibility on to her.
If I wanted to have some semblance of a work-life balance, I needed to learn when to let go. When to let others step in for me from time to time.
This was one of those moments.
“Okay,” I relented.
Her eyes lit up. “You’re serious?”
“Yes, I’m serious.”
She launched herself at me, hugging me tight. “I could kiss you.”
I knew she’d be excited, but I hadn’t expected her to be that excited. Maybe the bakery was becoming more than just a part-time job for her. If that was the case, it was going to be a tough pill for her parents to swallow…
“Promise you’ll call me if you need anything.”
“I promise.” She released me, giving me a gentle shove toward the back door. “Now go. Get out of here and get your man.”
“And Tegan,” Dec said. “Make sure you wear something tight. You’ve got a great body. Put it to work.”